SNOW TUESDAY NIGHT

Our next round of snow will arrive Tuesday night and end before daybreak Wednesday. While not a big storm many towns will pick up 3-5" of snow. Milder temperatures will make an appearance on Wednesday.

AUGUSTA (WGME) -- Maine's governor is under fire for his proposal to cut state welfare benefits to asylum seekers and other non-citizens. Governor Paul LePage defends his plan, saying those benefits should be used for Maine's most needy. Asylum seekers say they count on those temporary benefits when they first come to Maine. But the governor wants to eliminate all state-funded welfare and entitlement benefits for non-citizens, including asylum seekers who are in this country legally.

Specifically, the governor wants to eliminate General Assistance, Temporary Assistance for Needy Families and Food Stamps for asylum seekers and other new Mainers. Opponents call the plan inhuman, and are urging lawmakers to reject his proposal. Fatuma Hussein from the United Somali Woman of Maine "It is not fair." Current and former asylum seekers in Maine say while they wait for permission to work, they have no other source of income. Mouna Ismail now works and supports her children.

But Ismail says when she first came to Maine four years ago, those benefits were the only reason she and her family survived. she says "People will be homeless and starving to death. We need to help those people. We have to support each other." Health and Human Services Commissioner Mary Mayhew says federal assistance programs don't support asylum seekers, and neither should the state. She and the governor say it's a matter of priorities.

DHHS Commissioner Mary Mayhew says "There are thousands of individuals, intellectually and developmentally disabled, who also have not received services and supports that we believe this state is obligated to budget for and prioritize in this program." Governor LePage says "We need to start taking care of our military, our elderly, our disabled, and those afflicted with intellectual disabilities. And we have to be forthright in doing so." But Fatuma Hussein says for asylum seekers, Maine is their new home.

Fatuma Hussein says "It's a temporary benefit that we're looking for. It's not a lifetime benefit that we're looking for. And the majority of asylum seekers are educated. People who can really be part of the fabric of Maine." The governor also wants to cut the reimbursement the state pays to cities like Portland for General Assistance. He says welfare spending there is out of control. But Portland city leaders say the costs have gone up because the need has gone up.